Construction work has begun on a suezmax-capable oil and refined products terminal project in the US Gulf of Mexico.
The $930m NOLA Oil Terminal, situated on the lower Mississippi River, will initially include two deepwater berths and one barge dock.
The project's backers said the terminal, claimed to be the first of its kind in the region, will allow Mississippi River access for much larger vessels.
NOLA Oil Terminal was founded in 2013 by entrepreneurs Christian Amedee and Roy Carubba and is the latest in a long line of facilities designed to export growing US output on larger vessels.
"Crude oil and clean petroleum products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel are significant trade products for Louisiana, but we aren't able to take advantage of the larger vessels," Amedee said.
"This terminal will be the first in the area to be able to accommodate vessels which currently are too large and deep to dock in the Mississippi River or in most Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard ports. The positive impact on Louisiana's economy will be immense."
Once completed, the NOLA Oil Terminal will be able to accommodate up to six tankers each week with a second phase set to provide storage capacity of up to 10m barrels.
Phase one, which encompasses marine construction, is projected to be completed in mid-2022; the timeline for phase two is still to be determined.
The second phase will also include the option for two further docks, but the developers said this will be determined at a later date.
Construction of the terminal project is partially funded with $300m in wharf and dock bonds issued through Louisiana's Port of Plaquemines.
Less than two years ago some nine VLCC-capable US crude export infrastructure developments were under consideration, according to UK shipbroker Gibsons.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic had forced a rethink, with several projects/investors consolidating their efforts, others going silent and some being cancelled altogether, leaving just four such projects.
In 2020, the US exported 137.8m tonnes of crude oil, up 7.1% year on year. In the first 10 months of this year crude exports are down 7.6% year on year to 107.2m tonnes, according to Banchero Costa.
Given persisting infrastructure limitations, only about 36% of crude oil volumes loaded at US ports are loaded on VLCCs.
In 2020, about 55% of international crude exports from the US were loaded in Corpus Christi, around 15% from Galveston, about 9% from Houston and around 5% from Louisiana Offshore Oil Port.
